David Turnbullhttp://davidturnbull.com
Writer, vagabond, programmer, skeptic, and work-in-progress human being.Thu, 26 Feb 2015 09:54:57 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1On Feeling Unoriginalhttp://davidturnbull.com/said-again-quote/
http://davidturnbull.com/said-again-quote/#commentsThu, 26 Feb 2015 09:06:10 +0000http://davidturnbull.com/?p=3072Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But, since no one was listening, everything must be said again. - Andrè Gide

]]>http://davidturnbull.com/said-again-quote/feed/1Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleonhttp://davidturnbull.com/steal-like-an-artist-10-things-nobody-told-you-about-being-creative-by-austin-kleon/
http://davidturnbull.com/steal-like-an-artist-10-things-nobody-told-you-about-being-creative-by-austin-kleon/#commentsThu, 26 Feb 2015 09:00:06 +0000http://davidturnbull.com/?p=3054There’s a lot of books about creative work, and Steal Like an Artist is one of the better ones. It’s like The War of Art, but short and more casual (and minus the “spiritual” tangents). You won’t get craft-specific tips, as is the case with Bird by Bird and On Writing, but it’ll give you a kick in the … Continue reading Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon

]]>There’s a lot of books about creative work, and Steal Like an Artist is one of the better ones. It’s like The War of Art, but short and more casual (and minus the “spiritual” tangents). You won’t get craft-specific tips, as is the case with Bird by Bird and On Writing, but it’ll give you a kick in the pants if you ever struggle to get (important) work done.

]]>http://davidturnbull.com/steal-like-an-artist-10-things-nobody-told-you-about-being-creative-by-austin-kleon/feed/0Being Skeptical: Searching for Truth Beneath a Mountain of Pseudosciencehttp://davidturnbull.com/being-skeptical/
http://davidturnbull.com/being-skeptical/#commentsTue, 27 Jan 2015 09:16:52 +0000http://davidturnbull.com/?p=2836To many, “skeptic” is a dirty word, and if you try to explain to somehow how they’ve been mislead into believing a deception, it’s common for them to then complain that you’re just trying to burst their bubble. In regards to the “debate” about vaccines, a friend of mine suggested that it’s important “to hear all … Continue reading Being Skeptical: Searching for Truth Beneath a Mountain of Pseudoscience

]]>To many, “skeptic” is a dirty word, and if you try to explain to somehow how they’ve been mislead into believing a deception, it’s common for them to then complain that you’re just trying to burst their bubble.

In regards to the “debate” about vaccines, a friend of mine suggested that it’s important “to hear all sides of the story,” despite the anti-vaccine side being a concoction of fabrications far more deadly than vaccines could ever be.

When another friend proclaimed on Facebook that fluoride is toxic, I shared a couple of articles for further reading. She said, “Wow, David, those articles are really defensive,” and then never responded to the claims within those articles. (She then changed her job to “Being a Good Person” and unfriended me.)

I’ve learned to keep my mouth shut when someone says something that’s long been proven false, but that feels absurd.

It’s not exactly a thrill to discover that you’ve been wrong about something, especially if you’ve held onto the belief for a long while, but it’s glorious when you’ve got a new thought to play with. It’s like someone’s held out their hands and said, “Here’s a fragment of the universe that makes a little more sense…”

A lot of the time though, skepticism is confused with pessimism. It’s regarded as a morose way to view the world. Supposedly, skeptics suck happiness out of the air and derive pleasure from ruining the fun of open-minded “free spirits.” They pop balloons, spoil movies, and fail to find the humour in any punchline.

But in reality, being skeptical is about asking questions.

Taking things at face value and “having faith”, or having an open-mind that remains unobserved is regarded as lazy and submissive, not enlightened and progressive. The search for truth becomes an adventure and survival tool.

No longer do you rely on fleeting emotions and flakey intuitions to guide your perceptions, nor do you allow common failings of critical thinking to lead you astray. Skeptics are still human, of course, and can just as easily succumb to bias and poor logic as anyone else, but by identifying as someone who wants truth and not simply someone who wants to confirm their own beliefs, they’re able to find a sturdy foothold on their journey toward becoming someone who can navigate through mountains of lies manipulation, and discover the actual truth from the evidence at hand. (This includes accepting that, when there’s a lack of evidence, the actual truth should remain undetermined, rather than feeling compelled to decide on a temporary half-truth for the sake of comfort.)

Skeptics are eternal students and everything is a question. What do I believe? Why do I believe it? Why do other people believe it? Does this belief stem from a place of study and research? Or is there a bias that’s clouding my view?

Their goal is to see the world for what it is, not for what they wish (or merely think) it to be. This in itself could be argued an impossibility as the goal implies objective truth but, at the very least, trying to see the world for what it is can help prevent you from getting suckered into schemes and scams that distract from the higher, philosophical questions that some care to ponder.

Knowing this, it’s amusing that people consider skepticism to be synonymous with pessimism, as that in itself is a pessimistic view. It assumes that the world isn’t good enough. That reality is dull. That there’s a value — even honour — in “having faith” about things that are proposed without evidence, despite the fact that we’re surrounded by enough reality to fascinate anyone forever.

To paraphrase Douglas Adams, it’s not enough for people to see that a garden is beautiful. They have to believe there’s fairies at the bottom of it, too.

]]>http://davidturnbull.com/being-skeptical/feed/3Review: 30 Day Paleo Transformation by Robb Wolf (and 9 Ways To Make Paleo Realistic)http://davidturnbull.com/30-day-paleo-transformation-review/
http://davidturnbull.com/30-day-paleo-transformation-review/#commentsWed, 21 May 2014 00:30:39 +0000http://davidturnbull.com/?p=1990I’ve been on the Paleo bandwagon for a while. From a health perspective, I think it’s the best way to eat. Ethically, I’m torn, but I’ve tried the vegetarian thing for a few months and felt terrible. I could try again and do it better but, based on my understanding, humans are meant to eat … Continue reading Review: 30 Day Paleo Transformation by Robb Wolf (and 9 Ways To Make Paleo Realistic)

]]>I’ve been on the Paleo bandwagon for a while. From a health perspective, I think it’s the best way to eat. Ethically, I’m torn, but I’ve tried the vegetarian thing for a few months and felt terrible. I could try again and do it better but, based on my understanding, humans are meant to eat meat.

[Edit: I’ve since abandoned the Paleo bandwagon for various reasons, although my diet still consists of mostly meat and vegetables.)

The problem is, I’ve never stuck with Paleo for months on end and my meals have never been balanced. I usually fall into eating a narrow subset of meat and vegetables and, while that’s healthier than grains and sugar, I could do more.

An Honest Review

I had big plans for my transformation. I was going to empty out the pantry, get my family eating Paleo, and even record daily videos on YouTube to share the process with the world. I was already sold on the diet. I just needed an action plan and I thought this would be it.

But that’s not the case. This isn’t the action plan I needed. There are alright parts about the book but it’s mostly:

Over-hyped.

Thin on content.

Unrealistic.

…and better sources of information can easily be found on the Internet. (I’ll be sharing links to some of that information in this review.)

Part 1: Real Food & Real Life

The book opens with an overview of Paleo, covering topics like:

What a day’s worth of meals might look like.

The importance of sleep (and it’s correlation to stress).

A quicker primer on what to expect from exercise.

There’s not a lot of detail but, since the book isn’t meant to be an overview of Paleo, the introduction didn’t affect my opinion of it.

Part 2: Nutrition

In this section, Wolf talks about what to eat, what to avoid, and tips on how to shop. The tips are useful for beginners but they’re nothing new and don’t justify the cost of the book. It’d be a better use of your time to read:

Part 3: Exercise

When getting started with something like Paleo, I think one of the biggest mistakes is trying to change food and exercise habits at the same time. It’s often too much of a change and people are more likely to fall off the bandwagon. Can I fault Wolf for talking about exercise in this book? No. But I will say that:

I’d still say it’s best to focus on diet for at least the first month though — maybe even longer. You don’t have to rush everything.

Your First 30 Days

This is the part of the book I was excited for. It’s where Wolf breaks down what to eat with a month-long meal plan. I don’t love food and was therefore keen to be told, “Just throw these ingredients together and shove ‘em in your mouth…”

Before we enter into the verbal beat-down though, I will say that Wolf’s “Food Matrix” idea is brilliant. Basically, to keep Paleo interesting and simple, you can make meals by combining these ingredients:

First, we have the recipes. There’s four per day (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack), all of which are detailed in an included PDF. But there’s a problem:

These recipes are not unique or tailored for the book. They’ve simply been “curated” from well-known Paleo blogs.

The recipes are used with permission and their inclusion doesn’t invalidate their value but I paid for the book with the expectation that Wolf had taken the time to plan a month’s worth of meals that were balanced to improve my health and well-being. That’s not what this is.

Maybe I’m wrong but it feels like Wolf had an assistant throw together a list of recipes and slap a price tag on it. I’d love to believe the recipes were chosen for precise reasons but I doubt it. Rather than buying the book:

Search for popular Paleo recipes on Google and make your own plan.

Generate a plan with the EatThisMuch.com tool (there’s a setting for Paleo).

But while the post includes useful tactics, they wouldn’t be needed if the meal plan was made with actual care. By default though, it expects too much and the reader is forced to do work they shouldn’t have to do.

Consider this note that appears right before the meal plan:

Serving sizes on these recipes will vary. If the recipe serves 4 and you only need one serving, just do a little math. Divide all the ingredients by four, and make a note on the shopping list.

This alone isn’t a deal breaker but it’s another flaw of lazily compiling other people’s recipes. Again, the reader must do work they shouldn’t have to do. Didn’t I buy the book so I didn’t have to think about this sort of stuff?

Time-wise, I can’t be sure of how manageable the plan is because the cost was too restrictive to even get started. However:

There’s a lot of ingredients to work with.

I couldn’t find all the ingredients at one store.

Ordering online wasn’t possible.

So it appears time would be a notable casualty long before you step into a kitchen, and this is coming from someone who has a lot of free time. I can’t imagine what someone would do if they had an actual job or a family.

Conclusion

Part of me wonders if I’m whining. Maybe I’m the problem. But when I think about it for longer, it seems so easy to make a better shopping list:

Have fewer ingredients, with options for people who want to go the extra mile. The plan would default to simplicity though.

Sacrifice variety for practicality. This plan is only for getting into Paleo, after all. It should be approachable instead of intricate.

Assume a serving size of one for all recipes. It’s easier to multiply consistent quantities than to divide varied amounts.

Be displayed in a way that accounts for the fact that you might only shop once or twice a week. Don’t make anyone think.

These are not difficult things to do. They just require a little more time and effort than what’s on display in this book and that’s so very frustrating. Wolf has the know-how to make a fantastic meal plan. He just didn’t.

9 Ways To Make Paleo Realistic

I haven’t cracked the Paleo nut as of yet. It is simply more expensive and more time-consuming than other ways of eating. The long-term benefits do account for that to a degree but long-term benefits mean nothing if you can’t reach them through short-term efforts. To combat this, I have a few ideas:

Plan ahead with Robb Wolf’s Food Matrix. Simplify it further so you’re not overwhelmed with choice but the matrix idea is handy.

Slow cook 1-2 meals per day. This is one of the easiest ways to prepare meals that you actually want to eat. I’d suggest using this slow cooker.

Order food online. Even if it costs a little more, the amount of time (and petrol) saved easily makes it a worthwhile investment.

]]>http://davidturnbull.com/30-day-paleo-transformation-review/feed/6Online Video for the Camera Shy: How To Be Confident in Front of the Camerahttp://davidturnbull.com/online-video-camera-shy/
http://davidturnbull.com/online-video-camera-shy/#commentsWed, 14 May 2014 13:00:20 +0000http://davidturnbull.com/?p=1556When I first started making videos on YouTube, I was terrified. What if one of my friends finds my channel? What if I make a fool of myself? What if a random stranger on the Internet doesn’t like me? I’d been “the quiet kid” growing up, so even the idea of making videos was a … Continue reading Online Video for the Camera Shy: How To Be Confident in Front of the Camera

]]>When I first started making videos on YouTube, I was terrified. What if one of my friends finds my channel? What if I make a fool of myself? What if a random stranger on the Internet doesn’t like me? I’d been “the quiet kid” growing up, so even the idea of making videos was a step out of my comfort zone.

I had to do it though. I’d been blogging for a few years but was feeling stuck. I needed something new in my life. It was this quote from Thomas Jefferson that pushed me over the edge:

If you want something you have never had, you must be willing to do something you have never done.

But an inspiring quote couldn’t fix the fundamental problem of being absolutely horrible in front of the camera. That takes a bit more work.

My First Video

Just so we’re on the same page about what it means to be “horrible” in front of the camera, here’s the first video I posted to my YouTube channel:

So if that guy can make drastic improvements — here’s a more recent video — and also build a channel to 77,000+ subscribers and 33,000,000+ views, there is clearly a lot of opportunity out there. It’d take skill to be worse than I was.

Instead of dwelling on my terribleness for too long though, let’s talk about how you can make faster progress in front of the camera than I did.

Step 1. Find Your Inspirations

Becoming better on camera is, in many ways, similar to becoming a better writer. Just as a writer must read a lot of books to improve their way with words, someone interested in making videos must watch a lot of videos to improve their presence in front of the camera. By doing so:

You’re exposed to different styles of making videos.

You better understand what constitutes good camera presence.

You absorb the habits of the people you watch.

It’s not good enough to find an influence though, and the point isn’t to find channels that talk about whatever you want to talk about. You should watch widely for the sake of your own enjoyment since something can be learned from everyone.

If you’re not watching online videos on a regular basis, get to it. Subscribe to ten or more channels on YouTube and start watching them daily.

You never want to be consuming more than you’re creating but consuming is an important part of the process. Let other Creators be your muse.

Step 2. Plan Ahead

To this day, I still come across stumbling blocks when recording videos. I’ll be trying to say something but keep failing to say it. Then I’ll realise that I don’t actually have a clear idea of what I’m trying to say. I have a vague thought but no capacity to explain it.

It sound silly but, if you’re struggling to be confident on camera, you might not be sure about what you hope to achieve on camera.

The solution to this, at least, is quite simple: plan ahead. I find it helps to:

Stick with what you truly know. You don’t have to be a know-it-all. Talk about the topics that you understand deeply.

Write down the main 2-3 points you want to cover. You can follow tangents if you like but be aware of the stuff that really matters.

Keep the video as focused as possible. The more you try to cover, the more difficult (and overwhelming) it’s going to become.

You might also consider writing a script, which some people prefer, but I tried that for a few months and, since I was so focused on remembering what I had to say, my delivery suffered a lot. I prefer working with an outline.

Step 3. Prepare Your Voice

The biggest killer of camera confidence is making mistakes, but most mistakes are related to voice — mumbling, stuttering, etc — and completely avoidable.

From here on out, warm-up your voice before every recording. It won’t just make you sound better. It’ll make it easier to say what you’re trying to say. It might even feel like your thoughts have been warmed-up.

Steve Cohen’s Win the Crowd has the best section on vocal warm-ups that I’ve read and these are some of the ones I personally use:

Also remember to drink water. A lot of water. But not just moments before recording the video. Get into the habit of having a large bottle of water on your desk and drink from it regularly. This is what Cohen says about water:

Pure water hydrates every cell in your body and helps make your skin radiate a healthy glow. More important, water relaxes your throat, making your voice more resonant. The moist environments eliminates any resistance that is presented by a dry throat and enables you to produce a richer, more pleasant-sounding tone. On top of that, it’ll feel good. You’ll feel the resonation and reverberation of vocal tones more distinctly in your chest and nasal area. This helps you produce a better-quality sound.

None of these solutions are difficult or time-consuming but their deceptive simplicity doesn’t discount the fact that they’re incredibly effective.

Step 4. Stand Up

If someone asked me, “What’s the biggest change I can make to my camera presence in the next three seconds?” I’d say, “Get off your butt.”

Because as someone who recorded hundreds of videos from a seated position, I noticed a dramatic improvement in how I felt in front of the camera (and how I came across) once I started standing up.

There’s three problems with sitting:

Your posture becomes constricted and submissive.

Your breathing isn’t as deep as it could possibly be.

You’re left with a lowered range of motion.

And all of this contribute to a sense of feeling weak and low in confidence. (It’s also bad for your health but that’s not as relevant.)

Compare this to when you’re standing up:

Your posture is open and powerful.

You can easily take big, deep breaths.

You can move freely within your space.

If you make your videos while sitting down, burn your chair, extend the height of your tripod, and make a video on your feet. Sometimes laziness gets the better of me and I’ll sit down but my videos are better when I’m standing. Don’t underestimate the power of physiology.

Step 5. Practice

Although genetic differences play a role in our abilities, I’m a firm believer in what Daniel Coyle argues within the pages of The Talent Code:

There is, biologically speaking, no substitute for attentive repetition. Nothing you can do — talking, thinking, reading, imagining – is more effective in building skill than executing the action…

So while the tactics I’m sharing are certainly useful, they’re a lot less useful if you’re not actively making videos and practicing in front of the camera as much as humanely possible. That old adage holds true: “Practice makes perfect.”

But as Coyle explains in The Little Book of Talent, his other book about building skills, talent is only built at the edge of your current abilities:

Ask yourself: If you tried your absolute hardest, what could you almost do? Mark the boundary of your current ability, and aim a little beyond it.

This point slightly beyond your current ability is “the sweet spot” and it’s where you want to be the vast majority of the time — in place where you can struggle without struggling so much that it zaps your motivation.

It’s a hard balance to find though, so you might want to:

Setup a new channel on YouTube.

Record videos from a smartphone or web cam.

Publish a short recording every single day.

This allows you to create videos in a casual setting with little preparation and endless flexibility of what you can talk about. The end goal is to get yourself in front of a lens as much as possible with as little resistance as possible. If you’re able to form that habit, it’s a matter of time before your fears begin to fade.

Step 6. Think Bigger

When I first started making videos, I searched Google for phrases like: “how to become better in front of the camera” and “scared 0f video blogging.” But I was thinking too precisely and I should have been searching for public speaking advice because that’s what video blogging is – it’s public speaking with a delay.

This might sound unfortunate since public speaking is terrifying, but it’s actually great news because it’s not hard to learn about speaking in front of an audience. There’s a ton of resources at your fingertips:

A subscription to Lynda.com is one of the better investments you can make.

And I hope you can see what we’ve done here: we’ve taken the precise concept of video blogging and zoomed out to see that its foundations lie in public speaking. You can approach every aspect of online video in the same way:

Don’t learn “how to make good YouTube videos,” but instead learn about dramatic and documentary film-making.

Don’t learn “how to market YouTube videos,” but instead learn about marketing and promotion in the broader sense.

Don’t learn “how to make better looking videos,” but instead learn about photographic concepts like the Rule of Thirds.

There are new things to learn but it’s tempting to jump to the new stuff without focusing on the basics. Resist that urge. Start with the fundamentals.

Step 7. Close the Gap

At the moment, there’s a missing link between what you want to achieve and what you’re able to achieve. This is experienced by everyone who does creative work and it’s something Ira Glass talks about in the video embedded below.

The advice is targeted at writers but anyone can learn something from it:

Here’s the transcript:

Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you.

A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work.

Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.

Conclusion

For the most part, I’m a writer — not a video blogger. But video has been a big part of my life over the past few years and it’s satisfying to see the progress I’ve made in front of the camera.

If you’re curious about video, get started as soon possible. You don’t have to commit to anything. Just test the waters and see where it takes you.

Making that first, terrible video has been one of the better decisions I’ve made in my life and the same may hold true for you.

]]>http://davidturnbull.com/online-video-camera-shy/feed/5The Deviated Septum Experience: Diagnosis, Surgery, Recovery, and FAQhttp://davidturnbull.com/deviated-septum/
http://davidturnbull.com/deviated-septum/#commentsThu, 01 May 2014 21:30:11 +0000http://davidturnbull.com/?p=96At the end of February, I noticed I couldn’t breathe properly through my left nostril. I went to an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist and learned that, growing up, I’d broken my nose, resulting in a deviated septum. This is when the bone between your nostrils becomes crooked, restricting airflow. Many people have deviated septums … Continue reading The Deviated Septum Experience: Diagnosis, Surgery, Recovery, and FAQ

]]>At the end of February, I noticed I couldn’t breathe properly through my left nostril. I went to an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist and learned that, growing up, I’d broken my nose, resulting in a deviated septum. This is when the bone between your nostrils becomes crooked, restricting airflow. Many people have deviated septums but aren’t noticeably affected by them. I was one of the exceptions, with two doctors referring to the damage as severe.

To fix a deviated septum, surgery is required. I had this surgery in early April and, prior to that, had been searching for people’s experiences to get an idea of what to expect. I found some blog posts and YouTube videos, but nothing comprehensive, and that’s why I’m writing this post — to help people with deviated septums get an idea of what to expect from the process.

The post itself should answer most people’s questions but, if you have anything to ask, feel free to leave comments below.

Symptoms

There’s a lot of problems that can come from having a deviated septum but these are the most notable ones:

You become tired easily. It’s a source of that constant, sluggish feeling, and it’s especially noticeable when you’re doing anything physical. (My deviated septum now explains why I could sprint quickly but could never even begin to run a long distance.)

Your sense of taste and smell are diminished. I haven’t noticed big improvements in taste but smells are more intense than they’ve ever been. This is great for smelling the salty air by the beach. It’s not quite as great when a garbage truck drives by.

Your sleep suffers a lot. Without proper airflow, you’ll snore and suffer from sleep apnea, and you’ll wake up feeling groggy all of the time. You spend one third of your life sleeping and, if you don’t wake up refreshed, it’s going to wear you down.

(I’d argue that sleep is only one step down from water in things we need to survive so, if you’re sleeping poorly, that alone is worth the time and effort required of the surgery.)

The blocked nose that results from a deviated septum can also cause mouth breathing, which in itself comes with a range of nasty symptoms, from gingivitis to physically changing the shape of your face, as shown here:

These girls are twins. The right is a mouth breather.

Diagnosis

Like I said before, deviated septums are common. Half-decent specialists will find them completely unremarkable and easy to diagnose. I saw two specialists and they both identified the problem in the same way:

Seated me in a reclining chair.

Sprayed a local anaesthetic into my nostrils. It ran down the back of my throat and tasted terrible.

Shoved a camera into my nostrils to take a look around.

It’s a mildly uncomfortable process but nothing to be hesitant about. My eyes watered a little and the taste of the spray hung around for a while but there was no outright pain.

5 Things To Know About Pre-Surgery

Compared to most surgeries, there shouldn’t be much stress involved in this one. My friends and family were more worried than I was. There are a few things to keep in mind before heading into surgery though (most of which will be repeated by your doctor anyway):

For two weeks prior, avoid anything that can thin the blood. This includes a range of medication, some non-prescription pain-killers, and garlic. (You’ll also have to avoid these things after surgery.)

You’ll need to take 1–3 weeks off work to recover. You’ll probably feel fine after one week but, if you’re employed, try to get as much time off as possible. The extra rest will help.

Buy a Neti Pot. These are useful for anyone’s health but you’ll be needing it to clear out mucus and dried blood from your nose. They’re gross to use but wondefully satisfying.

Stock up your fridge with stuff to eat. I found softer foods like yoghurt easier to handle. Moving my mouth too much hurt my nose so solid foods were more difficult to manage.

Prepare for boredom. You can’t do a whole lot after surgery so podcasts, movies, and any other passive entertainment will make the time pass a little faster.

Your nose will also feel extremely blocked for the first week after surgery, resulting in some hardcore mouth breathing while you sleep. This will cause a painful sore throat, so any sore throat remedies will be a worthwhile addition to your arsenal. Personally, I’ve found Olive Leaf Oral Spray to be very effective.

10 Things To Know About Post-Surgery

There’s not much to say about the surgery itself. I went to the hospital, put on a gown, lay in a bed, was wheeled into the surgery room, and the anaesthetist put me to sleep in a second. I woke up cold and with foggy thoughts but the nurses put extra blankets on me and I soon came back to my senses.

The interesting thing happen once the surgery’s over, so keep in mind that:

Your throat will be sore. Immediately after the surgery, this is because of the anaesthetic. You will, however, be allowed to take mild pain killers.

You can stay overnight at the hospital. This costs more but I found it comforting to know that nurses were nearby. I didn’t need any of their help in the end though.

Your nose will bleed. Don’t be alarmed. It’s normal. Have an ice pack handy and place it below your nose to stop the blood from flowing. If it keeps bleeding for minutes at a time, call your doctor.

You’ll have foam packing in your nostrils. This will help absorb some blood immediately after the surgery and is usually removed within 12–48 hours. You’ll feel some relief once the packing is out.

You might have plastic splints in your nostrils. These help the septum heal properly. If present, they’ll be removed after one week and, once they’re removed, your breathing will feel incredible straight away.

Your sleep will suck. To solve this, I forced myself to remain awake for as long as possible so I was simply exhausted when it came time to sleep. Keep your head elevated with a couple of pillows while sleeping.

Showering is tricky. You shouldn’t get warm water on your head since that’ll stimulate blood flow (and we don’t want more blood out of our nose). Either have cold showers or just wash your body.

Nasal sprays will provide mild relief. The doctor may provide one of these. It’s not much but a saline, non-medicated spray can make breathing a little easier during the first week.

Neti Pots will provide the most relief. I didn’t feel comfortable using one for the first week but, once my splints were out, using the Neti Pot cleared out a ton of gunk and never fails to improve my breathing.

Headaches are inevitable. I had a few myself and they were terrible. I wish I had comforting words to offer but, for as long as I felt the pain, all I did was fantasise about being fully recovered.

Painkillers are your friend. I was taking the maximum dosage allowed — eight per day — and, while they didn’t clear up all of the pain, they helped keep me sane. Just don’t take ones that thin the blood.

But if all of this sounds scary, fear not. Everyone recovers differently and, based on what I’ve read, plenty of people have had easier recoveries than I did. And, either way, the struggles were well worth it.

Tracking My Sleep Quality with SleepCycle

In the weeks leading up to surgery, I downloaded SleepCycle on my iPhone to track the quality of my sleep. After a week’s worth of tracking, my sleep quality bounced between 50–70% on average (with a peak of just under 80%). Is this data incredibly accurate? I’m not sure but it doesn’t matter because I wasn’t worried about absolute data. I only cared about whether or not the numbers were higher after the surgery.

Here’s the chart for the days I tracked:

So you can see there was a big difference after surgery (and specifically, after getting the splints out). I went from not scoring above 80% to scoring 90% on my first night of post-surgery tracking, then 94% the night after. This meant:

I was falling to sleep quicker.

I was waking up less frequently.

I slept for longer overall.

Also, for the first time in my life, I was able to sleep on my back in perfect comfort. Previously, I could only sleep in very precise positions. I didn’t even “get” how people slept in other ways. (Now I just need to do some research in what’s actually the best way to sleep.)

Conclusion

It’s been a month since surgery and, although it can take months to feel the full effects, I feel capable of answering the most important question:

“Was the surgery worth it?”

And my answer is simply, “Yes.” Absolutely, positively, yes. It’s one of the best decisions I’ve made in recent memory and, if your breathing is affected by a deviated septum, I can easily recommend the surgery.

The first week of recovery had a few low-points but, since then, I’m breathing better, sleeping better, and smelling better, and the differences are dramatic. This wasn’t an incremental improvement. This was a big change in a short period of time that will surely have long-lasting effects. I have no regrets.

]]>http://davidturnbull.com/deviated-septum/feed/110Gym Fear: How To Not Be Afraid of the Gymhttp://davidturnbull.com/gym-fear/
http://davidturnbull.com/gym-fear/#commentsTue, 22 Apr 2014 23:00:04 +0000http://davidturnbull.com/?p=104For the longest of times, I was scared of going to the gym. I know that sounds silly to some but, having grown up as a scrawny computer geek, walking into a building full of athletic gods wasn’t my idea of a good time. But for about as long, I wanted to lift weights. I … Continue reading Gym Fear: How To Not Be Afraid of the Gym

]]>For the longest of times, I was scared of going to the gym. I know that sounds silly to some but, having grown up as a scrawny computer geek, walking into a building full of athletic gods wasn’t my idea of a good time.

But for about as long, I wanted to lift weights. I didn’t want to remain a scrawny computer geek. I wanted to squat and bench and deadlift, and I had all the motivation in the world, but I didn’t have the mindset. Whenever I thought of going to the gym, I couldn’t help but assume:

I wouldn’t fit in.

I’d hurt myself.

I’d embarrass myself.

And basically, the gym wasn’t for me because I wasn’t “the sort of person” to train at the gym. I’d put myself in a box and I wouldn’t let myself out. If all of this sounds familiar though, fear not: I’ve found the solutions.

Solution #1: Consider Your Motivations

Ask yourself, “Why do I want to go to the gym?” Because not all motivations are created equal. Here, for instance, are some weak motivations:

An authority figure told me to.

Someone doesn’t like the way I look.

It’s the popular thing to do.

These things do motivate some people but, if you’re scared of the gym, they’re shallow reasonings that are too focused on what other people expect from you rather than what you expect from you.

In contrast, strong motivations come from within. You’re motivated to do something when there’s a compelling reason for doing it, such as:

I want to lift weights so I can excel at a certain sport.

I want to run on treadmills so I can eventually climb a mountain.

I want to take a yoga class to calm my mind and ease my anxiety.

You’ll also notice that these motivations are very specific. They’re not merely personal — they’re precise. You have a clear understanding of what will happen if you get yourself into a gym. There’s nothing iffy about what you want.

But to be clear, I don’t believe the right motivation is the answer to all of life’s problems. I knew why I wanted to go to the gym long before I had the courage to do so. The right motivations simply act as a good foundation. They keep you focused and let you rationalise the moments where it all seems too hard.

After a little introspection, one of three things will happen:

You’ll be assured of your strong motivations.

You’ll be compelled to fix your weak motivations.

You won’t be compelled to fix your weak motivations.

And while that last point sounds like a failure, it might be a sign that you shouldn’t train at the gym. Maybe you should just fix your diet and walk a lot, or maybe bodyweight exercise is a better fit. You should have a plan in place to stay healthy but the gym is only one method, and while it’s nice to conquer your fears, it’s only worth the effort if it leads you where you want to go. So being conscious of motivation doesn’t just help numb your fears. It makes you conscious of whether a fear matters to begin with.

Solution #2: Kill Ambiguity

This might be hard to swallow but you’re not actually afraid of the gym. What you’re actually afraid of is the ambiguity of the gym. You’re afraid of:

Not knowing what you’re doing.

Navigating an unfamiliar environment.

Having people look down at you.

But while these fears are real and need to be dealt with, they’re much easier to deal with compared to a vague fear of the gym itself. In fact, it only takes one word to describe what you need to do at this point: study. Because ambiguity’s great weakness is information.

Your mission from here on out, then, is to know as much about the gym as possible before you arrive. You should, for instance, know:

What you plan to do at the gym.

How you plan to train at the gym.

The best times to visit the gym.

And, really, any other information that might possibly give you an edge before you step through those front doors for the first time.

You want to immerse yourself in gym culture and understand how to use the equipment you want to use, the details of gym etiquette, and why you should never curl in the squat rack. Make it familiar before you arrive.

Also, before you head to the gym for the first time, send the gym a few emails. Ask about the quietest hours for the gym and the hidden fees during sign-up. Don’t aggravate the staff with questions Google can answer, but do use everything at your disposal to understand what you’re getting yourself into.

An awareness of your fears might not be enough to conquer them but it’s a better starting point than remaining in the dark.

Solution #3: Think Smaller

Motivational gurus encourage us to think bigger. They say ambition is our friend and, if we shoot for the moon, even if we miss, we might land amongst the stars. But while it’s a nice thought, it doesn’t apply to everything.

Ambition is good when it aligns with something you’re eager to do. In those cases, it can give you energy and lasting motivation. If you’re afraid of the gym though, you’re probably not eager to go to the gym, so being more ambitious is only going to increase how much fear you feel. It’s not the right method.

Instead, think small. Your “ambition” should be step inside the gym, train in a very small way, and leave. And that’s it.

This accomplishes three things:

Your goal becomes approachable.

You have a chance to experience gym culture.

A lot of ambiguity evaporates into thin air.

Early on, the opposite approach would psyche me out. I’d be thinking about doing three sets of squats, three sets of the bench press, and the deadlift, and it was all too much. I was exhausted simply thinking about what I wanted to do.

Then I thought smaller and decided that, for my first time in the gym, I’d do a set of squats without any weight on the bar. This was the process:

Walk into the gym.

Pay for my session.

Find the squat rack.

Put the barbell on my back.

Do a set of five reps.

Give myself a mental thumbs-up.

Leave.

And, if I managed that, I’d consider myself a success.

I still walked into the gym with butterflies in my stomach but I knew that the feeling wouldn’t be around for long. I’ll only be here for a couple of minutes, I thought to myself, and my fears started to fade.

Eventually, training at the gym should last more than a couple of minutes, but for now, the focus should be getting you into the gym as frequently as possible with the least amount of resistance possible. Become familiar with the gym by making it easy to become familiar, then work your way from there.

Solution #4: Act Confident

I don’t believe it’s as easy to act confident as some people suggest but I do believe it can help in tandem with the other strategies I’ve shared.

To act confident, consider what happens when we’re not confident:

We breathe faster.

We think faster — too fast.

We slouch.

There’s other ways we respond — and everyone is different, of course – but if we can combat these responses, we’re putting ourselves on the right track.

Breathing

To breathe confidently is to breathe slowly and through our nose. In the morning, before you visit the gym, sit quietly for a few minutes and take long, deep breaths. You can consider this meditation but there’s no need to give it a label. You’re simply giving your brain the oxygen it needs.

At the gym itself, take the time to breathe after every set of exercise. I close my eyes during this time but you can do whatever you want. You don’t need to breathe for long. Just making a conscious effort to slow your breath is enough.

Thinking

Our thoughts are perhaps the biggest problem since most of our fear stems from losing control of our mind. To deal with this:

Have a precise plan. If you walk into the gym knowing exactly what you plan to do, your mind at least has a focal point to work with.

Listen to music. I prefer something heavy like The White Stripes or Cage the Elephant. Whatever can block out the world around you will work fine.

Do something easy. You don’t have to start off doing some complicated exercise. Just do something you know you can do.

Confidence comes from experience and the easiest way to gain experience is, again, to get yourself into the gym as frequently as possible with the least amount of resistance possible.

(We’re going to keep coming back to that same point.)

Slouching

We usually think of bad posture as coming from a lack of confidence but it also works in reverse: bad posture can cause a lack of confidence. This is something Amy Cuddy talked about in her now-famous TED talk.

With this in mind, practice “power poses” before you head to the gym:

You might feel silly but you can do these within the privacy of your own home and, at the very least, maybe they’ll remind you to push your shoulders back as they start to droop (which is something I definitely need to work on).

Acting confident doesn’t have to involve weird psychological tricks. Treat is as a matter of physiology and you can gain a lot of ground very quickly.

Solution #5: Lose Control

I’m a control freak. I love to be the one in charge and making decisions. But not everyone likes control. A lot of people find it adds another layer of stress to their life. If that’s the case for you, control might be the source of your gym fears. And I can see why that might be the case. When you’re in control:

You’re wholly responsible for your mistakes.

You’re not being guided by someone with more experience.

It’s all too easy to stand out for the wrong reasons.

But, luckily, there’s a simple solution to this: seek to be controlled. You don’t have to be the one making all the decisions and, by relinquishing control, you can make your life a lot easier. Here’s how:

Train with a Friend

You might not have a friend who trains at the gym exactly how you want to train, but maybe you know someone who simply has a gym membership and doesn’t have your fears? Ask to workout with them. They might even have a guest pass to share with you if they have a membership.

Even if they’re a cardio freak and you want to lift weights, that’s fine. Run on a treadmill for an hour. The point, as always, is to get yourself into the gym. Don’t worry about executing on your long-term plans straight away.

Hire a Personal Trainer

Personal trainers are expensive and it’s hard to know for sure whether or not they know what they’re talking about, but:

They probably won’t get you hurt.

A couple of sessions will be all it takes to get used to the gym.

They’ll take the reigns from the get-go.

You won’t really have to do any thinking for yourself, which is perfect in this case. It’s an hour of the highly useful monkey see, monkey do.

Join a Group Class

This is my favourite option. Sign up for a low-stress group class like yoga, hide in the back, and follow along with what the teacher is doing. This involves:

Minimal thinking.

People at your ability level.

A gentler push against the edges of your comfort zone.

And something like yoga is actually useful. It’s a skill worth learning and experiencing outside of your quest to conquer gym fear.

Ultimately, the goal with these methods is to remove conscious thought from the process. You want to become robot-like, almost, so you’re getting exposure in the gym without an overwhelming amount of anxiety.

You do eventually have to take control – the gym should be a proactive environment – but there’s no rule that says you have to start that way.

Solution #6: Expect Setbacks

The only thing worse than something going wrong is something going wrong and catching you off-guard. The surprise makes it so much more painful.

With this in mind, expect things to go wrong and expect things to go wrong in a precise way. Define the worst-case scenario and ask yourself: “What’s the worst that could happen?”

This isn’t meant to be reverse psychology though. I’m not trying to trick you into realising that there’s nothing bad that can happen at the gym. That would be a lie. Bad and uncomfortable things can happen at the gym. The point is to be aware of these things so they can be dealt with (and prepared for).

Get out a pen and paper and write down your scariest, gym-based nightmares. Do you make a fool of yourself? Does a cliché gym douchebag say mean things to you? Do you hurt yourself? Write it all down.

When these fears are sitting right in front of you, two things happen:

The most extreme ones start appearing at least a little silly.

The less extreme ones become more real but easier to deal with.

If, for instance, you make a fool of yourself in front of other people, leave the gym. Or move to a different section. You’ll feel awkward for a moment but it’s not hard to plan an escape route.

If a cliché gym douchebag says mean things to you, report them to the gym. You can do it anonymously via email if you want. They won’t be around much longer after that. Gyms have a hard enough time making themselves appear friendly.

And if you’re worried about hurting yourself, spend more time studying how to train before stepping into a gym. So many injuries come from simple ignorance rather that the method of training actually being dangerous.

The last thing I want is to make the gym seem like some friction-free zone. But I do believe most friction can be avoided, and that starts by being conscious of it.

Solution #7: Be Persistent

Persistence, I feel, is the great equaliser. You can make mistakes, have fears, and repeatedly expect to fail, but if you keep work toward a precise goal that doesn’t require external validation, it’s a matter of time before you reach it. I know it sounds trite but the only true failure is to stop trying.

On the practical side of things, persistence must be aligned with priority. You need to make “overcome fear of the gym” one of the most important things in your life. This means you should always be:

Learning more about the gym.

Taking small steps toward the gym.

Reminding yourself of your core purpose.

From there, a little inspiration can’t hurt. I’m not fond of cutesy phrasings but some quotes instil a fire in your belly, like this one from Winston Churchill:

Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.

Conclusion

Throughout this post, I’ve thrown a lot of words and ideas at you and, at this point, you might be unsure of where you should go from here. Let’s focus on the key points:

Consider why you want to go to the gym in the first place.

Don’t let anything about the gym remain unclear to you.

Set a small goal to get yourself in the gym as a starting point.

Make the most of physiological tricks to boost your confidence.

Let someone take charge so you’re not overwhelmed with responsibility.

Expect things to go wrong, allowing yourself to prepare for them.

Don’t give in at any point. Grit your teeth and just keep going.

A blog post alone can’t conquer your fears but the strategies are sound. They worked for me and I’m sure they can work for you. Also feel free to ask questions in the comments and I’ll be glad to answer them.

]]>http://davidturnbull.com/gym-fear/feed/3How To Write About Video Games for a Living: What I’ve Learned from 27,214 Daily Readershttp://davidturnbull.com/video-game-writing/
http://davidturnbull.com/video-game-writing/#commentsSun, 23 Mar 2014 22:00:17 +0000http://davidturnbull.com/?p=106Note: To be notified of more content like this (and more), subscribe to the email list. The emails will be infrequent but packed with goodies. For the last four years, I’ve run the most popular blog about the Nintendo 3DS video game system. The blog is past its prime at this point — half-abandoning it for nine … Continue reading How To Write About Video Games for a Living: What I’ve Learned from 27,214 Daily Readers

]]>Note: To be notified of more content like this (and more), subscribe to the email list. The emails will be infrequent but packed with goodies.

For the last four years, I’ve run the most popular blog about the Nintendo 3DS video game system. The blog is past its prime at this point — half-abandoning it for nine months while backpacking around the world isn’t a great marketing strategy — but it has been how I’ve primarily made a living since the age of 20.

There’s other metrics I could share but that’s not the point of the post. We’re here to answer a simple question: how can you make a living by writing about video games?

Because while I’ve had a lovely time over the last few years, I’ll eventually move on and I figured it’d be useful to share some things I’ve learned along the way. I have no need to hold back so this is pretty much everything I know.

The peak of the blog’s popularity.

1. Prepare to work.

A lot of people who say they want to write about video games for a living really just want a professional excuse to play video games. But it’s not that simple.

If you write about video games for a living, you will spend most of your time writing rather than playing games. You do have a better excuse to play them — “Honey, the boss needs me to finish this level!” — but don’t get into this industry if that’s all you can grasp of it. Reality won’t be so kind.

There’s also a difference between having a passion for writing and video games, and having a passion for writing about video games. You can easily like the former without liking the latter. (It’s the same way that plenty of people like travel and like writing but can’t handle the work of travel writing.)

Get into this business with a practical amount of pessimism. Expect it to be imperfect, as is the case with any job, and you’ll be be satisfied. Expect it to be more than that though and you might find yourself struggling.

Action items:

Ask yourself, “Do I love to write?” It’s a tough gig and takes more effort than stringing sentences together. You need more grit than some people are willing to work for.

Write every day. If you can’t manage this without getting paid, you can’t manage it while getting paid. This guy wrote a novel on on the subway, on his way to work, with a phone, so there’s no excuses.

Consider alternatives. Maybe there’s an easy job that pays alright and gives you more time to play video games? If that sounds attractive, chase that dream. (Read: Lifestyle Design.)

2. Forget about the gatekeepers.

Writing about video games is a competitive field and, if you try to snag a job at IGN or GameSpot, it’s going to be tough. Simply being a great writer is often not enough and, as much as possible, we want to avoid situations where we rely on people in positions of power — the gatekeepers — to make decisions that fall in our favour. To me, that’s leaving too much up to chance and I don’t want the course of my life altered by someone saying, “No.”

Getting a job at a company will be less stressful than working for yourself but, early on, it’s not a good idea sit around and hope for this to happen. Instead:

Actively publish writing as soon as possible.

Treat your writing like an actual, every day job.

Build up all the real-world experience you can.

You can turn this into self-employment if you like or use the results as your portfolio for employment. I just think starting independently allows you to transition into either in the long run, so that’s what we’ll focus on.

Action items:

Start a blog. It’s fine to use WordPress.com at first. Just start as soon as possible. You can switch to your own host later on if you want. (This blog is hosted with A Small Orange.)

If someone says, “No,” find an alternative. There’s never one way to approach a situation. You can always take another route to cut ahead of the line. Don’t waste time by waiting.

Think of yourself as an artist. You’re an independent, creative person who has a long battle ahead of them. Read books like The War of Art to help survive the coming months and years.

3. Learn to (actually) write.

In general, video game writing sucks isn’t very good. I like what Polygon‘s doing but most of what shows up on blogs is a combination of:

Press releases that have been slightly rewritten.

Click-bait that creates news out of thin air.

Something obvious that is made to sound interesting.

This happens because the industry runs on revenue from page-views which means posting quickly and posting frequently is always more profitable than posting well. It’s the same problem as the 24-hour news cycle on television. The moment you write and revise with actual consideration, you fall behind. I don’t have a solution to this since my blog and I epitomise the problem but, in either case, study writing outside of the video game world. If you emulate what you see on blogs, everything you write will be terrible.

Here’s a few rules worth remembering:

Good writing is free of clutter.

Short words are better than long ones.

Clarity is more important than being clever.

Delete 10-20% of the words from your drafts.

Daily practice solves most writing problems.

But these rules aren’t the answer to all of your writing woes. You need to need to unlearn everything you were taught in school and learn from actual sources of authority — books, mostly. On Writing Well is a must-read, The Elements of Style should sit on your desk at all times, and Bird by Bird will keep you sane.

And while video game writing is mostly junk, maybe that’s an opportunity? Maybe someone with the right “voice” will sweep in and collect a big audience with their mastery of language? Because I don’t think careful, revised writing is a bottomless pit of doom. It’s just floundering at the moment and will continue to do so until someone figures out how to make it profitable.

Action items:

Write at the same time every day. It doesn’t matter when you write. Just work hard to be consistent.

Read your writing aloud. It’s when you speak what’s on the page in front of you that your mistakes become a lot clearer.

4. Pick a niche.

Most people assume it’s better to write about video games in general since you’re able to reach a larger pool of people. In reality though, it’s better to write for a smaller audience — a niche – since there’s much less competition.

It’s this line of thinking that’s left me labelled as a Nintendo “fanboy” since I mostly talk about the 3DS. But the reason I focus on the 3DS is because I knew it’d be easier to focus on one system and transform myself into the resource for it. As a result, I don’t have to “sell” my blog to potential readers and I don’t have to convince them to come back. The benefit of my blog is obvious: there isn’t a better source for 3DS news (or at least, there wasn’t).

Other advantages of writing within a niche include:

Gaining a stronger understanding of a smaller topic.

Having less competition (and less risk of future competition).

Being considered an authority by default.

But writing a niche doesn’t have to relate to topic — 3DS, Vita, PS4, etc. Your niche can be the form of writing you focus on. Maybe you only want to write reviews or previews or event coverage. Be creative.

You don’t have to focus on a niche though. Some people will find this limiting. But if you feel obligated to target a bigger audience, don’t. You’ll always have an easier time being the bigger fish in a smaller pond.

Action items:

Brainstorm niche ideas. Scribble a mind map on a piece of paper and consider every precise topic you might want to focus on with your writing.

Test the waters. Spend a few days writing within each niche, just in text files on your computer. See which niche feels the most natural.

Start very small. You can expand later if you want. It’s better to start as precise as possible though. It’s harder to go the other way.

5. Target yourself.

When I started the blog, I didn’t consider what people wanted to read. That’s no different from guessing, I feel. Instead, I asked myself:

What do I want to read?

What do I want to work on?

Because while market research has its place, we live in a big world and our personal tastes are often shared by large amounts of people, so appealing to yourself can be the most effective way to appeal to others. When I thought about the blog I wanted to read, for instance, this is what mattered:

It has to be fast. I don’t want to behind on the news.

The articles don’t need to be long. I just want the details.

Corporations are boring. I prefer blogs from real people.

I’m fine with reading but a podcast or videos would be nice.

I want the author to be as enthused about the 3DS as I am.

And nothing about that list is out of the ordinary. It was, however, motivating to build something so closely tied to my own preferences. I wasn’t labouring away to satisfy other people. I was happily working on something I wanted to exist.

There’s other advantages to working like this though:

You’re able to do the best work you can manage.

People sense that you’re enjoying yourself (and they like that).

You attract like-minded people who are fun to spend time with.

It’s easier to remain persistent during the more difficult times.

You intuitively know how to appeal to your audience.

You do have to appeal to other people, which means you can’t be completely self-indulgent, but considering your own tastes is the best place to begin.

Action items:

Look at your Internet history. What are your browsing habits? These are usually a great suggestion of your tastes.

Question convention. Just because other writers and blogs do something doesn’t mean it needs to be done. Don’t feel obligated to take any approach.

Adapt your tastes along the way. You can always change how you work later on. You might lose some readers but never let yourself feel trapped.

6. Find your edge.

No one stands out by blending in. That’s a ridiculously redundant statement and yet, by default, a lot of people are scared to be different and they’re scared to suggest that they’re different. Neither habit is productive in this world.

Ask yourself, “What can I offer people that other people can’t?” And be as forgiving as possible. Write down every possible advantage you might have over someone else who wants to write about video games:

Are you a computer wizard?

Do you have money to invest?

Have you been writing for a long while?

Do you have lots of free time?

Maybe you have connections in the industry?

Personally, my edge was speed. When I started the blog, even if I didn’t write about a story first, I’d write about it quick enough that I may as well have been first. The difference was minuscule. Other people tried to compete but no one sustained the pace for as long as I did. But speed is not a great edge. It’s like competing on price in the retail world — a quick race to the bottom. If I were to start over, I’d find an edge that’s more enjoyable for the long-haul.

Action items:

Read Strengths Finder 2.0. It’s more of a test than a book but it’ll give you a sense of your personal strengths and the information is surprisingly detailed. I still refer to my results regularly.

Ask people. We tend to look at ourselves critically while our friends and family can often have a better understanding of our capabilities. Question them and listen closely to what they say.

Consider the “cost” of your edge. Most upsides have downsides, so consider what the downside is and figure out how to mitigate it in advance. Don’t let it surprise you later down the line.

7. Don’t hide.

Again and again, I’ve seen bloggers attempt to appear more “legitimate” by branding themselves as a larger entity than they really are. They’re ashamed to be “just” a single person with a passion for writing about video games.

This probably stems from what we’re taught in school: never use the word “I” within an essay, never give an opinion, and detach yourself from your creation. But while this makes sense in some contexts — students would use “I'” as the easy way out and news about the world could do with less bias — it makes no sense if you want to brand yourself as a writer.

Being a real person with real opinions is a surefire way to attract real readers rather than having people pass by to check out your writing before fluttering off somewhere else. To be a real person:

Write in first person. Stand behind your opinions.

Attach your name to everything (even if it’s just your first name).

Make it easy to get in touch. You’re not a celebrity.

Share yourself outside of writing — Twitter, Facebook, etc.

Appeal to yourself. Work in a way that makes your smile.

There’s a lot of words that marketers use to describe this approach to business and media — authenticity, transparency, personal branding — but don’t over-think it. Just don’t try to hide yourself. You can, of course, have whatever level of privacy you feel comfortable with, but don’t put up barriers just because you feel like you’re “supposed” to put them there.

People won’t look down at you if they learn that you’re a nerdy guy in your parent’s basement who loves to play and talk about video games. If anything, they’ll probably feel a stronger connection.

Action items:

Sign up for major social networks. This means Facebook, Google+, and Twitter. There’s no need to be on the obscure ones.

Use tools to manage your online persona. I’m fond of Buffer but there’s a lot of tools that make it easier to handle the workload.

Draw the line. What don’t you want to share with the world? Clarify it to yourself. I, for instance, leave my family out of my online world.

8. Connect with people.

Connecting with bloggers and other people in the industry is the fastest way to be noticed. It all comes back to that cliché: “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” And it’s unfortunate that skill matters considerably less than knowing the right people but we can either lament over how the world could work or deal with how it does work. (The latter is a lot more productive.)

I’m an introvert though and never felt comfortable making a big effort to “network” with people. It never felt natural so my approach has been a lot more casual. I’ve always just found people I wanted to connect with and:

Sent them news tips via email.

Responded to their questions on Twitter.

Left comments on their blogs.

And really found any way to connect with these people that didn’t involve me “selling” my blog to them. I never wanted to say, “Hey, check this out…” I only made myself known to them and let the blog and writing do most of the work. Once they were aware of it, they started linking to me, we’d chat over Twitter, and a connection was formed. No fuss, no muss.

I guess it comes down to offering something rather than asking for something. Because I’m turned off when someone contacts me out of nowhere and says, “Please promote this thing I made.” But I’ll definitely pay close attention if you’re able to introduce yourself by saying, “Here’s this thing that you’ll find interesting or useful…” This is all classic sales technique: make the person care about you before you try to sell them on anything.

(And of course, treat human beings like human beings. The goal here isn’t to use them as stepping stones.)

Action items:

Write a list of people you want to know. And don’t just pick the popular people. Many of the most interesting folks aren’t the ones with legions of adoring fans.

Follow these people on Twitter, read their blogs, etc. Look for opportunities to help them. Answer their questions, offer advice if they ask for it, and be a friend before they know who you are.

Take your time. You don’t get to know people by forcing it to happen. As long as you’re putting out good stuff and these people know you exist, you’re going in the right direction.

9. Be first.

When the 3DS was announced, I saw the news story on Engadget in the morning and launched the blog by lunch. My first competitor — 3DS Buzz — launched within a couple of weeks but, without a doubt, I was first.

In the grand scheme of things, this might seem like a small detail, but I’ve always found that being first is one of the biggest advantages available:

The most effective time to be first is the start of a gaming generation. It’s the people who started blogs about the Xbox One and PS4 as soon as they were announced that have since reached a critical mass of readership. There’s other chances to be first though. You don’t have to sit and wait. You can also:

Be the first to break any sort of news story.

Be the first to start a blog about an anticipated game.

Be the first to offer an interesting opinion on a topic.

And even if you’re not monitoring the blogosphere at every second of the day, at least be ready to jump at the first sign of something new. This doesn’t always work — I also started a blog about the failed OUYA system – but it doesn’t cost much money to start something and, when it pays off, it pays off in a big way.

Action items:

Read sites like Hacker News and Tech Crunch. These will have you covered for the most interesting opportunities. The front page of Reddit is also useful (but maybe hide the less useful sub-reddits).

Figure out a game plan. What will you do if an interesting opportunity comes along? Imagine it happens and prepare for that moment. (I was always at the ready to register domain names, start a blog, etc.)

Get started now. Being first is an advantage but it’s not a prerequisite. Your best bet remains to start as soon as possible, even if it’s just to prepare for being first in some other way later down the line.

10. Rank well in Google.

Google remains one of the best sources of traffic and therefore one of the best sources of readership — if you know how to improve your ranking. You’re probably wanting to become more of a writer than a marketer though so, don’t worry, we’re going to keep this simple.

The technical term for improving your search rankings is search engine optimisation (or “SEO” for short) and, since the folks at Buffer have already written The Complete Beginner’s Guide to SEO, I’m not going to regurgitate every point they covered. I just want to focus on three things:

First, I don’t take SEO as seriously as other people. It’s a big, profitable industry, but my approach is to:

Third, you need links from other sites pointing toward your blog. Google treats links as “votes” and they’re a critical component if you hope to get seen. Following the other points in this article will result in natural links but, to give yourself a nudge, write for other sites in exchange for a link to your blog. This is known as guest blogging and there are lots of resources to get you started:

After a while, SEO can take care of itself as a snowball effect begins to build but, early on, giving it attention can be the greatest boon to your writing career.

It’s not sexy but it works.

11. Cover events.

There’s a lot of events used by the video game industry — the Electronic Entertainment Expo, GamesCom, Nintendo Direct, press conferences from other major companies, the release of anticipated games, and the broader events like Black Friday and Christmas.

Anyone who writes about video games will prepare for these events but people don’t prepare enough and, as such, they miss out on huge opportunities to reach a lot of people. Because while I’ve promoted my blogs in a bunch of different ways, I can trace the bulk of my audience to events. Here’s how:

Months before E3, I create a page for the event. This allows me to rank well in Google for relevant phrases and my “E3 2010″ page resulted in the first time my site reached more than 1500 people in one day. In 2011, that number jumped significantly and the strategy continues to work.

We had two months notice for a press event where Nintendo would announce the release date for the 3DS. I created a mini-site for the event, did some basic SEO work, and within seconds of that event starting, my server crashed from too much traffic.

When Nintendo hosted Nintendo World 2011 — the first event where the public could play the 3DS — I created another mini-site which attracted thousands of people because I live blogged the event from the show floor and published videos every evening when I returned to the hotel.

And I did all of these things within the first 9 months of the blog existing. There’s been many more events since then — the launch of the 3DS, every E3, etc — and the strategy continues to work because:

Write down the major events coming in the next year. General ones like Valentine’s Day and Christmas are fine but it helps to be specific. Know what’s on the horizon.

Look at last year’s coverage. What popular content came out of previous events? You don’t have to shoot in the dark. See what’s worked and model your content off of it.

Start preparing now. If an event is months or even years away, that’s great. Get to work. As long as you have patience, you’ll be rewarded. Don’t let your future self look back with regret.

12. Find a better way to make money.

The bane of video game journalism is that money comes from advertising. Even if you’re working for a company, your salary is ultimately derived from how many people see ads. This causes a few problems:

Writers are encourages to publish click-bait that can easily mislead readers or result in fake outrage.

Websites are designed to increase page views and ad impressions rather than improve the user experience.

The entire industry becomes a race to the bottom since everyone’s aiming for the same metric.

Since I’m a part of the problem though, I don’t have a direct solution. I haven’t been able to fix my blog, let alone the industry. I will, however, say that:

Patreon is an interesting platform that allows consumers to regularly donate to their favourite creators.

Daring Fireball is my favourite model of tech journalism and there’s room for a video game equivalent.

So I think there is hope but page-view journalism is a downward spiral that’s difficult to escape. The amount of money that a page view is worth continues to fall so the attempts to grab attention by any means necessary become more ludicrous and, as a result, the amount of money that a page view is worth continues to fall. It’s a silly game but, at the moment, that’s how it’s played.

Action items:

Read Trust Me, I’m Lying. This book from Ryan Holiday provides an in-depth explanation of page-view journalism and may give you ideas on how to avoid it.

Waste less money. The less you’re at risk of falling into debt, the less chance you have of doing anything you’ll regret. Consider how to reduce expenses before adding income.

Believe there’s a solution. I know this sounds cheesy but the moment it starts to feel hopeless — as I’ve felt before — is the same moment you enter the downward spiral.

13. Don’t die wondering.

Earlier, I mentioned that I went to Japan to pick up the 3DS on the day it came out. I had been wanting to travel for a while and the 3DS stuff was more an excuse to leave in the country but I still considered it an investment and was lucky enough that the investment paid off (the trip paid for itself).

Before leaving Australia though, I was terrified. I was putting years of my savings into this trip and, while I’d reached a decent amount of people with the blog, I wasn’t earning more than $10 per day, so it was a big move.

But, of course, I did go to Japan, and it was mostly because of something my dad told me. “David,” he said, “you don’t want to die wondering.” And that thought, subconsciously at least, has always pushed me to do the things I’ve done — the thought that, one of these days, time will run out. I won’t exist forever so, when I come to a crossroads between doing something and not doing something, the former is almost always the better bet.

A similar thought is posed by Tim Ferriss in The 4-Hour Workweek — one of the most influential books in my life. Within its pages, Ferriss says to approach every big decision — or every decision that feels big — with two questions:

On a scale of 1-10, what’s the worst that can happen?

On a scale of 1-10, what’s the best that can happen?

So whether you’re hesitating about publishing your writing online, ambivalent about what it’ll take to make a name for yourself, or scared to take an important leap of faith, ask yourself these questions. Usually, the answer’s going to come back as, “Yes, you should absolutely do that thing you want to do.” Then it’s just a matter of actually doing the work (and that’s where the real fun begins).

Conclusion

The last thing I want is for anyone to thing what I’ve written here is the final word on becoming a video gamer writer. This is just my experience and my observations. I do feel like I’ve covered the big points though and that’s usually the best place to start. Beyond that, read books, learn from people you want to be like, and test assumptions with your own experience. There’s no set way of making it. You ultimately have to find what works for you.

Also know that, if I were to start over, I’d do a lot of things differently. I wouldn’t start a blog that trapped me in a 24-hour news cycle. I’d find a way where I could actually spend time writing rather than rushing around to gather the latest news. I’d try harder to survive without ads and push for an amazing user experience over everything else.

But for those things to work, it would have to be a complete overhaul rather than a gradual shift, and I’m not sure I’m ready for such a reinvention.

#

If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below. I’ll continue to check back and answer as many as possible.

]]>http://davidturnbull.com/video-game-writing/feed/25Digital Nomad Packing List: How To Travel the World with (Very) Few Thingshttp://davidturnbull.com/packing-list-2013/
http://davidturnbull.com/packing-list-2013/#commentsWed, 19 Mar 2014 22:00:42 +0000http://davidturnbull.com/?p=244Long before I started traveling, I loved to: Read about the stuff that people travelled with. Consider how I’d fit my entire life into a backpack. Learn about the gadgets I’d use along the way. I’ve since travelled a decent amount and my love of packing lists holds strong and it’s because of this love … Continue reading Digital Nomad Packing List: How To Travel the World with (Very) Few Things

I’ve since travelled a decent amount and my love of packing lists holds strong and it’s because of this love that I’d like to answer a question no one is asking: what do I take with me when I travel? The list, as you’ll see, is quite short.

My Packing List

I should note that I didn’t leave Australia with all of this stuff. I picked some of it up along the way. The list adapts to which country I visit first.

I spent an ungodly amount of time picking the right backpack. A year before I went anywhere, I started looking at my options and eventually came across the Deuter Futura 28L (mostly because of what Tynan has written about it).

This backpack has accompanied on me all of my travels in all sorts of environments — rural Tanzania, snow-drenched Kanazawa, etc — and I imagine it’ll stick with me for a while longer.

Here’s why it’s so wonderful:

It’s universally accepted as carry-on while not being so small that everything has to be crammed inside of it.

Despite putting it through hell, the backpack barely has a scratch of damage. I won’t need to replace it anytime soon.

The frame is light, comfortable, and designed to keep the whole thing slightly off my back, preventing sweat.

There’s also a rain cover that pulls out from the bottom and, while I usually forget that it’s there, it saved me on a rainy evening in Osaka.

So while it took ages to decide whether or not I should buy the backpack, I know now that it was the perfect choice. I have no desire to use anything else and it’s the easiest item to recommend on my list.

Before I turned sixteen, I hated Apple. Then I wanted to mess with the Apple-only software, bought a Macbook Pro, and have become one of the fanboys I once had so much disdain for. I’ve since bought an 11.6″ Macbook Air and it’s pretty good:

The solid-state drive keeps the computer fast.

Although I can feel the weight in the backpack, it is light.

Battery life (especially in later models) is getting better.

If you’re not loyal to any particular operating system though, there are non-Apple laptops that are lighter and faster and have better battery life. Maybe I’ll make the switch back to Windows, or maybe I’ll even switch to Linux, but I haven’t been able to sever myself from Mac OS X as of yet.

I was the last of my friends to get a phone and they still complain that I’m hard to reach because I leave it in Airplane Mode most of the time. But I do need a phone when I travel and chose the iPhone 5 because:

It has the best interface for texting.

The camera’s good (and I don’t travel with a camera).

Google Maps has saved me a couple of times.

Ideally though, a company would release a phone with a simple interface, these features, and nothing else. I don’t care for the apps and it’s annoying to get stuck on a plan I hardly use.

Apple makes good products, and I do think the iPhone is the best in its class, but it’s way more than what I need.

I preordered a Kindle the day I was able to — the first generation didn’t ship internationally — and there is nothing else I own that I love as much. I expected to remain loyal to dead-tree books but there’s just too many advantages of Kindle books:

They’re cheaper.

They’re more pleasant to read.

They’re immediately accessible.

And of course, they’re a lot easier to travel with compared to lugging around a stack of physical books.

I don’t read a lot when I’m traveling but the Kindle is the perfect remedy to a rainy day or a long layover at an airport. I’ll never go anywhere without it.

Since I work when traveling, and since some of my work involves making videos, it helps to bring a microphone with me. There’s a lot of options these days but I’ve had the GoMic for seven years and, at just$40 on Amazon, it’s:

Held up remarkably well.

Capable of capturing great audio.

Very small and easy to pack.

Maybe it’s not the absolute pinnacle of tech anymore but I have no desire to replace it. You can see what it’s capable of in this video that I filmed in Portland, Oregon. (Be warned: I look like a drug addict.)

This is one of those products I saw on just about every packing list because it’s considered such a versatile soap, making it perfect for travellers. You can use it to wash your hair, clothes, or body, and it last for ages so you’ll surely get your money’s worth.

I used the Tea Tree Oil version since I bought it after getting a cold and needed something to help clear the airways.

There are synthetic alternatives that do a fine job for less money but this shirt accompanied my dad to South America, tagged along for my travels since then, and while it was eventually laid to rest in a Parisian bin after developing one too many holes, it lived an honourable life up until that point.

Eventually, I plan for the majority (if not all) of my wardrobe to be from the Icebreaker brand. For the moment though, that remains a luxury I can’t afford (and one that feels a little too self-indulgent).

ExOfficio make amazing travel clothes and their underwear is easily worth the expense. They’re comfortable, don’t absorb odour, clean easily, and my only regret is that I travelled with just one pair. (I did have other underwear but only generic brands.)

One of these days, I’ll own three pairs and wear them exclusively throughout the year.

Years ago, ExOfficio sent me these pants so I could review them on an old blog of mine and I reviewed them well because they’re great for what they are:

Extremely light.

Easy to pack.

Quick drying.

They’re a great fit for hot climates and they served me well in Tanzania. But I didn’t wear them at all on my recent trip. When it got hot, I wore board shots, and when I arrived in Portland and needed warmer gear, I wore jeans.

In the end, I gave the pants to a friend and he made much better use of them, so they are a good product. I just don’t need them.

My parents bought me these right before I left the country for the first time and they’ve held up since then. But if I were to buy a new pair, I’d probably go with the Icebreaker brand just because I think it’s one of the more reliable brands of the market.

(If I’m starting to sound like an Icebreaker fanboy, then you’d have a completely accurate perception of me.)

A few years ago, I stopped wearing shoes. They’re bad for feet and posture, I learned. But I grew up beside the beach and know the area well so it wasn’t hard to walk barefoot safely. I just couldn’t hope for the same to be true when I left the country.

Many barefoot enthusiasts wear the Vibram Five Fingers shoes but I went with the more traditional looking Vivo Barefoot shoes from Terra Planna and they’ve been amazing:

They don’t restrict the foot so you’re able to have the benefits of walking barefoot without the drawbacks.

They held up very well over the course of years — surviving snow, desert, multi-day hikes, etc.

The styles make them appropriate for just about any situation you can imagine.

And they were my only pair of shoes for this whole time so they took a massive beating across my travels. They did develop a hole in the right sole after an aggressive game of tag with a friend’s daughters in Paris but I went out of my way to buy the same pair and have been equally satisfied with the quality and the comfort.

(They don’t actually make the “Aqua” model of shoe anymore but there’s plenty of options available. If you want the same shoe I bought, some stores should still have stock.)

And everything else…

I don’t want to write paragraphs about mundane items like cables and chargers, so here’s the remainder of my travel gear:

Travel adapters for different regions.

Macbook Air charger.

Kindle charger.

iPhone charging cable.

Four digit combination lock I never use.

Wallet full of foreign currencies.

A4 notebook for scribbling down thoughts.

Pen that came from somewhere. Maybe Phuket.

Scarf that was given to me in Portland.

Jeans from Old Navy that started falling apart real quickly.

Jacket from Old Navy that’s held up better than the jeans.

A long-sleeved, polyester t-shirt for colder weather.

Board shorts that my sister says are ugly.

Electric toothbrush I’ve had for years.

Toothbrush charger that falls over a lot.

Nail clippers I bought in Thailand.

A set of $10 headphones for listening to music.

What I Didn’t Take With Me

In some regards, my list appears anaemic. I didn’t travel with some items that some people (and especially digital nomads) consider essential. Let’s run through what’s apparently missing and I’ll explain why I didn’t pack it.

Dedicated Camera

I took a Canon 60D with me for my first time overseas and came back with some amazing photos but, in general, I find that having a camera encourages me to take more photos than I really need and becomes more of a distraction than anything.

If I were to buy a dedicated camera, I’d buy an Olympus E-PL5 to save on space and weight over the DSLR but, for now, I don’t need more than the iPhone.

External Hard Drive

I work exclusively on computers so it’d make sense to have an external hard-drive for back-up purposes. This is just one of those things I don’t want to lug around though, so I don’t. I make sure all my important files are in Dropbox and that’s worked well so far.

I’ve also recently setup Arq with Amazon Glacier and combining them with Dropbox seems like a potent combination.

Travel Towel

Years ago, I bought a travel towel. I thought it’d come in handy. Then I never used it. I tested it once at home, was kind of let down, travelled with it anyway, and at some point I lost it. The end.

I had one of these towels, and they are well-reviewed, but I’ve never been far from a regular towel and they’re much more comfortable.

Travel towels only seem necessary if you precisely know for sure that you need them. Otherwise, they’re probably overkill.

My Wishlist

I’m not clamouring for anything new on my packing list but a few extra things would probably come in handy.

Ear Plugs

For whatever reason, I still don’t own ear plugs. They cost basically nothing and supposedly make it much easier to fall asleep on planes and in dorm rooms. I’ve just never made the effort to buy them.

These appear to be decent but every brand seems to have some drawbacks. I’ll probably forget to buy them before I leave the country again anyway though.

Sleep Mask

I always fly with budget airlines and they never give me free sleep masks so I still don’t own one of these. One would have come in handy on a recent 10-hour flight though when the lady next to me left her television turned on the entire time, even when she was sleeping. (I almost reached out to turn it off but then she woke up and continued watching it.)

Universal Travel Adapter

I’ve never needed a converter when travelling. Most electronics can handle different voltages. But you do need an adapter if you want to use any outlets when you’re on the go and, at the moment, I use an adapter I bought on eBay, along with one I bought at the airport last year. It’s not the best setup and I should buy a adapter that’s usable everywhere but, you know, laziness.

This is something I’ll remedy for the next trip and, from a tiny bit of research, this adapter looks good.

Conclusion

Despite my fascination with stuff though, if there’s one thing I’ve learned about travel it’s that worrying about what you have when you leave the country is a waste of time. Most “must-have” travel gear isn’t necessary and I’ve travelled just fine with gear that’s usually vilified by backpackers — anything made with cotton, denim, etc.

So while it’s fun to see what other people have in their backpack, don’t let it be a limitation. You don’t need Icebreaker shirts or the fanciest of travel adapters to have a good trip.

The latest in travel gadgetry can make like a little easier on the road but that’s all it ever is — a convenience.

]]>http://davidturnbull.com/packing-list-2013/feed/1How To Become 20% Stronger in 7 Days: A Beginner’s Guide to Creatinehttp://davidturnbull.com/creatine-monohydrate/
http://davidturnbull.com/creatine-monohydrate/#commentsWed, 12 Mar 2014 22:00:01 +0000http://davidturnbull.com/?p=336I’ve never been a fan of supplements. I take Vitamin D and Fish Oil because they’re the most common deficiencies but I rarely feel different after taking multi-vitamins or those herbal medicines with funny names. (But maybe the difference isn’t meant to be overtly felt? Maybe the magic is more subtle?) Last year though, after … Continue reading How To Become 20% Stronger in 7 Days: A Beginner’s Guide to Creatine

]]>I’ve never been a fan of supplements. I take Vitamin D and Fish Oil because they’re the most common deficiencies but I rarely feel different after taking multi-vitamins or those herbal medicines with funny names. (But maybe the difference isn’t meant to be overtly felt? Maybe the magic is more subtle?)

Last year though, after hitting an abrupt wall with my training at the gym, I started to experiment with creatine — a supplement I’d heard a lot about but one that also attracts a lot of critics:

“It doesn’t work!”

“It’s bad for the kidneys!”

“Isn’t creatine a steroid?”

But less than a week into taking the supplement, I could only wonder: why isn’t everyone taking this stuff? Because it wasn’t like most supplements. I could actually feel the difference and it was big.

(And don’t worry, I’ll address the critics soon enough).

What is Creatine?

Creatine is produced within the body and found in food products like meat, eggs, and fish. When consumed in larger quantities though, incredible things happen:

You become stronger.

You build muscle faster.

Your aerobic ability improves.

It’s the first point that’s the most obvious while the other ones are seen to a lesser degree, but the first point is a big one. Take the supplement every day for 1-2 weeks and it’s like flicking a switch or discovering you have superpowers. You become stronger without any extra work.

One study in particular showed that creatine was:

…able to increase a 12% improvement in strength to 20% and able to increase a 12% increase in power to 26% following a training regiment using creatine monohydrate.

You do have to keep taking the supplement to continually feel its effect — it takes the 1-2 weeks just to kick-in — but it’s cheaper than many other supplements. You can get my favourite creatine powder for $15 on Amazon and that’ll last about three months at the normal dose of 5g per day (which is roughly one rounded teaspoon).

My Experience

The week before taking creatine, I squatted 85kg for three sets of five reps. I had to fight for each rep and my form wasn’t great. The week after taking creatine, I squatted 90kg for three sets of five reps and the reps were easier than what I’d been lifting with the 85kg — I struggled less and my form was a lot better. The reps weren’t easy but I felt close to lifting even more weight during my next session.

There’s a few important things to note about this progress:

After lifting for a few months, adding 5kg to your squat over the course of a week is not a normal thing to do. Especially when you’re a lightweight like me — I weighed just 69kg at the time. Usually, your progress will dramatically slow after the first 2-3 months.

I’d only been taking creatine for a week. And maybe my body was quick to absorb it but I imagine I would have made further progress had I continued taking it. (I’ll explain in a moment why I stopped taking creatine until recently.)

I didn’t change anything about my diet or training. There wasn’t an X-factor that I’ve failed to mention. The creatine is the only addition to my regime and, as far as I can tell, it’s the only reason my strength jumped so significantly in a matter of days.

But I did exaggerate in the headline when I said no one’s taking creatine since, in reality, it’s:

Very popular among athletes.

One of the most studied supplements on the planet.

I’m just surprised we don’t see it recommended for “regular” people when it provides such dramatic results without any effort. Isn’t that the dream? To make progress without doing anything?

You might be thinking that there has to be some grand side-effects though if it’s otherwise so wonderful. But, well, not really.

Risks & Side-Effects

Let’s get a few things out of the way:

Creatine is not a steroid.

Creatine does not damage the kidneys.

Creatine has no significant side-effects.

And that’s not a liberal use of the word significant. These are the potential side-effects of creatine:

Dehydration, but you simply need to drink more water. You don’t even need to drink a lot more water. Just a bit extra.

Cramps, which stems from the dehydration, so water or a sports drink with lots of electrolytes will take care of this.

Weight gain, but this is water weight gain. You’re not getting fat. If you ever stop taking creatine, the weight will go away.

Diarrhoea, but I’ve never had a problem and it seems to be tied with dosage. Stick with the 5g dose and you should be fine.

There will, of course, be more studies done in the future so there’s still more to learn about the supplement, but all it takes is a perusal of the examine.com page to see a lot of comforting evidence.

How To Not Use Creatine

Despite everything I’ve said though, my first experience with creatine ended badly. It was, however, my own fault.

Like I said before, I hit an abrupt wall with my training at the end of last year. I’d been hoping to squat 100kg before January but 85kg seemed like my limit. I just couldn’t lift anymore and, with every workout, I felt increasingly tired — yawning during workouts, etc.

At this point, as I teetered on the verge of overtraining, I should have:

But I did none of these things. I had less than two months to add 15kg to my squat and I was impatient.

My solution was to take creatine. I used it as a quick-fix to push myself when my body was crying aloud to rest and recover. I was overtraining but continued to ignore how I felt.

For the briefest of moments, the plan worked and my squat went up. I was making progress again. But the day after I managed the glory of my 90kg squat, I lay down for an afternoon nap and, when I woke, I felt horrible — headache, fatigue, and the first signs of a cold. Then, for the rest of the week:

I remained confined to bed.

The cold developed.

I threw up a few times.

It was a strange sickness since it seemed to change from day to day but, in either case, my body was telling me to take a break.

Forever stubborn though, I returned to the gym and tried to lift weights (this time without the creatine since I wanted to believe it was the culprit, rather than my inability to take a break). I dropped down to lifting just 60kg but even that was too much. I felt groggy during workouts and never walked out of the building with the rush of endorphins that had made me addicted to lifting in the first place. After two weeks of this, I had to accept that I couldn’t keep going. I took three weeks off.

All of this happened four months ago and, while I returned to the gym again for a brief stint after New Year’s, I wasn’t ready for the return and have decided that I won’t start lifting again until the end of April — once I’ve recovered from deviated septum surgery.

I am taking creatine again though (in tandem with the bodyweight training I’m doing through Gymnastic Bodies). I’ll just make sure to use it properly this time around — as an enhancement, not a cure.

Extra Bits

If you’re willing to at least test creatine for a few weeks to see what it can do, here’s a few things to keep in mind:

You only want creatine monohydrate. There are other forms of creatine but these cost more without having an observed benefit. Don’t believe any marketing hype that says otherwise.

Stick with creatine power or capsules. There is a liquid variant but it’s ineffective. Most people will prefer powder since individual capsules contain very low doses (so you need a lot of them).

You don’t need to “load” creatine. This speeds up absorption but the impact isn’t always noticeable and you’ll burn through the creatine faster than needed. I prefer sticking with a consistent, 5g dose.

You don’t need to “cycle” creatine. You don’t need to take a break from it. This just stems from when people thought creatine had side-effects. You can take it regularly without a problem.

Not everyone will feel the benefits. I’m not sure why this happens but a minority people just don’t gain anything from creatine. Try it anyway though. Most people will at least feel some effect.

Conclusion

You won’t hear me talk a lot about supplements because it can be such an iffy industry with a lot of crap peddled by sociopaths. This feels like one of the exceptions though. Creatine is:

Safe.

Studied.

Effective.

And if you try it yourself, you’ll feel the effects within a week or two, or you won’t. There’s no need to buy a 12-month supply and beat a dead horse into submission. Give it a go and see what happens.